Energy-Informed Cyber and Physical Resilience for Distributed Energy Systems

Major concerns for solar power installations are malicious and unexpected operations that go undetected and unremedied. Cyberattacks on Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and Inverter-Based Resources (IBR) could cripple power systems in many jurisdictions across the US. The technology proposed in this SBIR project will contribute longterm security and reliability improvements for utility-scale and commercial photovoltaic (PV) systems by creating the world's first energy-informed resilience and security solution for DER systems that performs cyber-physical analysis of DER/IBR operations. DER Security Corp (DERSec) SentryTM software is designed to stop manipulation and subversion of DER/IBR devices and networks, including preventing the ability to disrupt gigawatts of safe, affordable, clean energy that powers millions of Americanĺs homes and businesses. Phase I will craft a set of robust detection algorithms, incorporating heuristic rules, stateful analysis, cross-converter correlation logic, digital twins, and fingerprinting technologies to monitor PV site communications and operations. The proposed research establishes unique approaches to detect maloperations and communication traffic coming from insider threats, malicious firmware updates, and local control system updates that compromise grid operations and stability. The team will study the accuracy and false-positive reporting rates of each of the analytical approaches to determine the best technologies for detecting false data injection attacks and malicious commands. Phase I will also establish DERSec Security Event and Information Management (SIEM) system that can monitor cyber-physical alerts from live systems. In Phases II and III, the mitigation and recovery components of the DERSec solar cybersecurity software solutions will be beta tested, refined, and deployed by Distributed Energy Resource (DER)/Inverter Based Resource (IBR) network operators to secure systems from cyberattacks that currently escape detection. This project will deliver a tremendous public benefit by keeping critical infrastructure running even when under threat from sophisticated adversaries.